


Feels like a Lifetime ago

by Assaultfox



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Crime, F/M, Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-01-25 04:17:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12522796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Assaultfox/pseuds/Assaultfox
Summary: It has been 7 years since the Nighthowler case and our favorite buddy cops are now dealing with the challenges of being married and raising an adopted kit.However a new beginning does not erease the past.How will Nick deal with being confronted by the biggest mistake he ever made?How will his past come back to bite him?





	1. Home Sweet Home

“But Judy, I love you!” Screamed the brown buck as Wolford lead him off towards the waiting police cruiser.

“We were meant for each other! I can protect you from that nasty predator.” Were the last words that she heard from him before the cruiser door was shut behind him.

She turned towards Nick who calmly stood beside her with his signature smirk,”how come that I am always the one who has to worry about these nutjobs coming after me?”

“Well,” Nick started as he turned towards her just to put one paw under her chin, “you are the most beautiful rabbit in the city.”

He came even closer and she had to look straight up while he was looking straight down so that their eyes could meet.

“And you are somewhat of a celebrity,Ms Hero Cop, so who can blame them?”

Judy just smirked and replied smugly,”that is MRS Hero Cop to you. I am mated after all.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Nick asked with a playful growl,”who is the lucky male that captured your heart like that MRS Hero Cop?”

Judy's smirk only grew while she seductively put one paw on his tie and began to play with it.

“Oh, well, he is the most handsome fox in the city which means that we are evenly matched.” She replied in her most seductive voice.

Nick's paw wandered from under her chin towards her cheek while he asked,”oh, a fox? Do I know him?”

Judy smiled brightly before pulling him down into a kiss.

After that she finally answered,”I am sure that you do officer Wilde.”

“I am not so sure of that though.” He answered with a cheeky grin,”can you show me once more?”

Judy rolled her eyes,”greedy fox.” She whispered just so that he could barely hear it.

But she pulled him into another kiss regardless, she was his bunny, who was just as greedy after all.

“WILDE AND WILDE!” Came the booming voice of the chief from behind them and it was more effective at separating them than even a bucket of cold water could have been.

The two separated instinctively and jumped into a salute.

“Chief Bogo? Sir what are you doing here?” Asked Judy somewhat confused.

The chief just looked down on them menacingly and replied,”one of my best officers got assaulted by some maniac just now and you think that I would not come to check on the situation myself?” He asked with his deep booming voice that almost made every sentence that he uttered sound like a threat.

Judy knew better though and just answered,”well I am alive and well Sir. The suspect tried to kitnap me but I managed to subdue him and call for backup.”

The chief nodded,”good, you are a witness though Wilde so you have to come to the precinct with us so stop flirting with your mate.”

Judy wanted to answer with yes sir, but Nick cut in before she could utter anything.”What? Me a witness?” He asked in playful confusion.”But I just got here after my wife called me.”

A vein on the chiefs neck could be seen pulsating dangerously and he turned to Nick to answer. “NOT YOU WILDE! I am talking to your wife!”

He turned back towards Judy and said,”damn can you make sure that he is professional once in his life? I mean he has been pulling this joke for almost half a decade now and it is STILL NOT funny.”

Judy looked at the chief somewhat embarrassed,”I can try.”

“That is enough, just report in for questioning as soon as possible.”

Judy smiled,”yes Sir!”

She was about to turn around and walk towards one of the cruisers, which was still in the area, to catch a ride to the precinct.

But the chief stopped her,”Hopps are you sure that you are okay?”

She turned around and smiled,”It is Wilde now Chief, and yes I am okay.”

It was cute that the chief always completely forgot her name change when he was really worried. It allowed her to know whenever he was genuinely worried.

She then proceeded to walk towards the cruiser only to hear Nick shout after her,”does that mean that I need to pick up Aileen from school and go see the dentist with her?”

Judy knew that being as smart as he was that Nick would find a way to argue himself out of this task if she let him. So she just gave him a thumbs up over her shoulder without loosing any speed.

 

**Later that day**

 

“But Dad, I don't want to have my teeth checked!”,whimpered the young bunny to Nick's feet who had decided that there was no way that he could move if she just clung to his leg hard enough.

So he knelled down and began stroking the top of her head, something that never failed to calm Judy down and therefore should work just as well on his little bean. “But you complained that your teeth are hurting and since you did not brush them properly we now have to check up on them. And only the dentist can do that.”

Hope suddenly flared up in the eyes of the little rabbit and she put both on her paws on his belly before cheerily exclaiming,”but you are so smart Dad! You can do anything you can check my teeth right?”

With that she opened her maw and showed of her not so well brushed teeth.

Nick could not help but smile and he used his paw which was much larger than her maw to shut it manually.

“Nope sweetheart, no can do. We are going in there because I promised mommy that we would.”

“But mommy isn't here! She would never know!” came the whiny reply of his little doe.

Damn he thought, related or not she was most definitely his daughter.

“Sorry sweetie as I said, no can do.”

With that he grabbed her and carried her into the dentist's office. He got some weird looks, like always, since he was a fox carrying a young female bunny which was trying her hardest to break free. But the staff already knew them and so there were no real problems.

Naturally they had to wait for their appointment and it was a struggle for him to keep Aileen from running out the door. Not to mention fend of her attempts to persuade him into just leaving and saying that they had been there to Judy.

Her offers ranged from doing housework all the way to actually doing her homework for school, which meant that she was actually pretty desperate.

Once they were calling in she then forced him to at the very least hold her paw at all times. A task that he happily fulfilled for his little bean.

While the dentist had to struggle with a fearsome biting rabbit who was totally against his tools entering her mouth.

This lead to the whole procedure taking far longer than it had to.

And Nick and the dentist were both rather happy once it was all over.

They made a new checkup appointment before they went home where Aileen cashed in on the promise that she would be allowed to eat pizza in front of the TV. A promise which had been made in order to finally make her stop biting the poor doctor.

This lead to Judy coming home and finding her two favorite mammals cuddling together on the couch with two half finished pizzas before them while they were watching some new action flick.

Normally Judy would have scolded Aileen first and then later Nick, but the day had been quite taxing and so she just jumped onto the couch next to her daughter and asked with a smile,”what are we watching?”

Aileen replied happily,”Steel Fur!”

Judy cuddled up to her daughter and grabbed a piece of pizza from the table before them.

“Ah so a scifi flick it is.”

They where already in the middle of the film, it was a film about mammals being replaced by robots and the heroes were trying to fight the corporation who were responsible.

The lead hero was a big tiger who was augmented with futuristic technology and who has a dislike for robots which was kind of ironic considering that he was mostly a robot himself.

But the film was decent even if it was filled with stupid one liners.

Once the film was over and the hero who had at this point found himself a partner, a young tigress who liked him despite looking like a tin can, had beaten the evil corporation in an over the top fight atop of a big skyscraper, it was time for Aileen to actually go to bed now.

And Judy was just about to drag the unwilling young doe into the bathroom herself when Nick solved this particular problem with words.

“Sweetheart if you don't brush your teeth then we will have to go back to the dentist sooner rather than later and...”

He did not even manage to finish the sentence before the young bunny disappeared into the bathroom with a laud 'EEEEEPPP'.

Judy could not help but smile and Nick had a really dreamy expression on his muzzle when he said,”damn I wonder if you were just as cute when you were her age.”

This prompted Judy to elbow him in the side,”you are not supposed to call a rabbit cute Nick!”

Nick just looked at her in mock confusion,”but I thought that is why I married you Carrots! So that I could finally call a bunny cute.”

Judy just rolled her eyes,”well Slick call me cute if you want but we should properly raise our daughter at least.”

Now it was Nick's turn to roll his eyes,”but she is at least half fox so calling her cute should be within my rights.”

Judy put both her paws on her hips and gave Nick a glare,”NO, she is not half Fox. She is a regular bunny and if we raise her weirdly then she is going to get picked on in school! You know how harsh other kits can be and we both know how being the odd one out feels!”

She paused for dramatic effect,”so let's try to raise her into a normal bunny.”

Nick could not help but smirk, Judy was just so adorable when she was angry.

“Alright alright, normal rabbit it is. And here I though that ordering that false fox tail and clipping it to her tail was a great idea.”

Judy looked at him like he had just grown a second head,”did...eh..did you really do that?!”

He used that as his cue to swipe her off her feet and carry her towards the kitchen bridal style.

“Nope,” he gave her a kiss,”but that sounds like a great idea.

“Niiick!” She stretched the 'i' in an effort to make any further conversation meaningless.

“Okay okay, no fox tails for our sweet little bean.”

They reached the counter and Nick carefully placed her on top so that they could now see eye to eye.

“You know, the chief gave us the day off tomorrow after what happened today.”

Nick smiled,”Oh did he now?”

Judy smiled seductively,”that means we can do whatever we want tomorrow while Aileen is in school.”

Nick smirked,”I like the sound of that.”

 

**Meanwhile in Tundratown**

The music was blasting through the old warehouse at full force while the young vixen resharpened her knife. Her tail was swishing to the music and she moved back towards the middle of the room.

There, in the middle of the room, hanging from two hooks which had been pierced through his legs was a young boar. 

He was already dead and his guts were piling up in a metal tray below which prevented the blood and guts from spilling onto the floor.

The vixen approached the gutted boar and began to slowly work the knife under the skin of the dead male and successfully began to separate the fur from the meat. 

Someone had to do this job, and she took pride in her abilities. 

The meat would fetch quite the price on the black market and it was the easiest way of getting rid of a body here in the city.

She was quite unhappy that it was a boar though since they were usually tough to skin not to mention the fact that males tended to hold onto their fur far more than females did.

But work was work and once she was finished with him she would relax and plan the upcoming operation.

She was a busy vixen after all. 

 

 

 

 


	2. Dirty little Secrets

**Late morning of the next day**

 

“When you said that we could do anything we want this was not really what I imagined.” Whined Nick.

“Oh come on Nick, we did what you wanted for the first half of the morning and now it is my turn.” Judy replied with a sigh. She knew what was coming and so she did not even flinch when Nick tried to sway her with puppy dog eyes. An annoying trick that he had learned from Aileen.

And Judy knew that she could never ever let him know just how effective this tactic was and how much restraint it took for her not to give in.

“Stop looking at me like that!” Judy said the firm voice that normal mothers usually only reserved for their kits.

“But, Carrots, why this?” Nick whined once more.

And Judy just gave him a firm look in an attempt to just push this conversation aside.

“I mean,”Nick started saying in his most dramatic voice while raising one paw over his head as if he was about to faint,”my heart is not ready dear. How could you force this on me?”

Any normal wife would have been embarrassed to see their husband like this, Judy thought, so what did it say about her that she wasn't even the least bit surprised?

“Oh suck it up Slick.” She replied a little bit annoyed, this was shaping up to be harder than taking Aileen to the dentist and that was usually a chore in and of itself.

But that did not mean that she was out of ideas yet.

“You know Nick,” Judy said while turning around and putting one paw on her chin as if in deep thought,”the way you are dodging this makes it seem as though you are trying to hide something.”

Even with Nick now at her back she had no need to look at him in order to know that he was probably panicking right now.

While Nick was really good at hiding stuff and manipulation others he was at the same time also very careful about his standing with others. Which meant that he was actually scared of her getting the wrong idea about him.

This was a problem that had lead to them hooking up much later than either of them would have liked.

And while Judy disliked using Nick's insecurities against him,desperate times always call for desperate measures, right?

“I mean it is just a bank visit we are talking about.” Judy added with a smirk which Nick luckily could not see.

She calmly started walking towards the entrance of their apartment building which they had been standing in for what felt like an hour to Judy but couldn't have been more than ten minutes in reality.

“Maybe you scammed someone at the bank and that is the reason why you are hellbent on staying at home?” Judy suggested not without noticing the small noise that Nick made when she said these words. I sounded almost like a whine but with the way that he suppressed the noise it was hard to tell.

And after that he actually still answered firmly with,“Of course not!”

Which was to be expected since Judy knew that he was actually just to lazy for all the paperwork.

“Or maybe you are in crippling debt and haven't told me about it?” Judy asked while she turned around to look at her mate who was currently vigorously shaking his head.

“Fluff I used to make...” He was about to start his monologue but Judy quickly interrupted him, she was on top right now and she would stay there.

“200 bucks a day Slick, I know. But that gives me another idea.” Judy said and Nick gulped when she came so close that her chest almost touched his belly.

“Maybe...maybe you are not in crippling debt!”, Judy said in the most overly dramatic way possible.

“I told you I am not. I...” Inserted Nick but she shushed him right away.

“Maybe you are sitting on a fortune my red furred rouge.”

She grabbed his tie and pulled him down so that she could whisper,”And you are keeping it from me so that you can use it to one day run away with some vixen isn't that right?”

That was so amusing to see Nick's eyes go wide while his ears flattened against his skull.

However when she saw real guilt in Nick's eyes Judy felt her joy fade just as quickly as it had come.

Before she could even react, and before she had any time to apologize, Nick went on his knees and embraced her with his eyes tearing up.

“I am so sorry Judy! Please forgive me if I made you think that I would ever just leave you like that.”

WAIT WHAT?

Judy was confused by this reaction. She could have imagined him trying to brush it off or actually pout about the fact that she would insinuate something like that.

Maybe at best just give in and go to the bank with her without any more complaints just to clear things up.

But crying?

That was entirely new and pretty concerning to Judy.

The fact that Nick, the mammal who never showed anyone his emotions was openly crying in the middle of the apartment building lobby was indeed very concerning.

It showed her that she had struck a nerve and it alarmed her to the fact that she needed to tread very carefully from here on out.

This thought of hers was only reinforced when Nick tightened his embrace and started to nuzzle her back with his long snout.

And so she started to stroke his side lovingly and said,“come on Nick, I know that you would never do that. I was just joking.” Smooth Judy, very smooth said a sarcastic voice in her mind.

Nick did not answer, in fact he did not even react at all.

And so they were just sitting there, embracing each other until his little emotional phase was over.

She would absolutely have to talk to him about this, but not now and most definitely not in public.

It took a while for Nick to actually calm down and Judy thanked the stars that no mammal entered or left the building during this time.

Dealing with concerned neighbors would be the last nail in the coffin and she had no intention of being the new hot gossip around the neighborhood and thus, thanks to her hero cop status, the entire city.

“Hey maybe we should go back up and just relax until Aileen gets out of school today.” Judy suggested in an attempt to salvage the situation as best as possible.

Nick meanwhile who had recovered quite rapidly in the last two minutes was already back on his feet and wiping the tears off of his face.

“No, lets go to the bank like you planned.” Came his monotone reply.

Damn thought Judy, this might have left a scar or maybe she had reopened an old wound who knew.

Nick and her now being mates did not necessarily mean that Nick was ready to open up about everything that had happened in his past. And Judy was sure that he was still hiding some nasty emotional scars from his rough childhood. But that was okay, everyone had secrets and it made Nick opening up whenever he did that much more important and special to her.

Which meant that him showing feelings like that and then not opening up meant that this particular secret or fear was a pretty big one.

One that he was not comfortable sharing with her right now. And while that made her feel a little insecure and sad right now. At the same time she understood the need for secrets, she had never talked about the Gideon incident with Nick after all so she would be a hypocrite if she pressed the topic now.

Damn so many conflicting feelings was the only thing Judy could think of right now.

Both of them dealt with their own problems on the way to the bank.

Judy was wondering what Nicks breakdown had been about and Nick himself felt like shit.

He pulled through though once they reached the bank of Judy's choice in the middle of the downtown area. It was not that far from precinct one and it was a pretty reputable private bank.

With a smirk that was nothing but a farce he masked his real feelings like he had done so many times before and with a wink towards Judy he opened the door leading into the bank.

The bank itself was made for mammals of all sizes and thus it featured impressive stair like floor systems which allowed mammals of different sizes to comfortably use the same space without getting in each others way.

It also prevented bigger mammals from stepping on smaller ones, as long as the smaller mammals stayed in their designated areas.

Judy and Nick made their way over to a reception where they were greeted by a smiling goat which was no real surprise considering that most of the banks official workers were prey.

It was their way of subtly putting the customers at ease and a pretty pathetic and racist tactic of you'd ask Nick, although it was a proven one.

“Welcome Mr and Mrs Wild. It is a pleasure to meet you. May I inquire the nature of your visit?” Asked the female goat whose name tag read T. Hornard in a warm and professional tone.

The fact that the goat knew their names was not really all that surprising when one considered that Judy was still the poster mammal for the ZPD.

Every mammal and their grandmother knew her, so long as they lived in the city or in Bunnyburrow.

Judy seemed somewhat lost in thought and did not react right away so Nick took it upon himself to answer the Ms Hornard's question.

“Hello Ms Hornard it is a pleasure to meet you to. We are here to inquire about merging our accounts and to change her account into a joint account.” Nick answered in his smoothest business voice.

He did not do it on purpose really but after twenty years of hustling it had become just become second nature to him whenever money was involved and when a deal was made.

Not even the fact that he had been a legitimate police officer for years now could change that.

The goat nodded and tapped something into a computer.

“Is that true Mrs Wilde?” Asked the Ms Hornard in the same warm formal tone as before.

Judy nodded,”yes, I have been trying to get my husband to come here for close to four years now.” She said with a smile on her face before adding,”but being a cop and raising a kit is hard work so we never found the time.”

Nick meanwhile was taken aback by the question and wondered if she would have asked the same question if he had been a buck instead of a fox.

His internal question was answered immediately when the receptionist spoke once more when she turned to him.

“I apologize Mr Wilde if I came off as rude by asking your wife this. I know that mammals in interspecies relationships can be pretty sensitive in regards to things like that. But I am bound to protocol and thus I am required to ask the owner of the bank account about these matters.”

Nick just nodded, whether that was true or whether this was a gallant way to save herself, he would never know.

The receptionist smiled and turned back to Judy,”Mrs Wilde your usual contact in this bank is Mr Warring, correct?”

Judy nodded,”yes he is the mammal I usually talk to when I am here.”

The receptionist began to type in some more things and seemed to be checking something before speaking once more.

“Mr Warring is currently speaking with another client and there is already another client waiting for him. Which means that you would have to wait for him to finish his business with these clients first. Would that be acceptable or do you want me to look if another one of my colleagues is currently free process your request?”

Judy seemed to think for a moment before answering while Nick wondered what kind of mammal Mr Warring would be.

He had to be prey and he had to be in the same size category as Judy, there was also his name to consider and thus Nick came to the conclusion that he was most likely a bunny as well.

“No I would like to speak with Mr Warring since he should already be familiar with my data.” Cam Judy's answer and Nick almost gave a sigh. This meant waiting but on the other paw, dealing with a banker who had never dealt with Judy's account could make things significantly longer as well. Nick could only hope that this waiting time would not be too long.

Ms Hornard meanwhile typed something into the computer once more and grabbed a small sheet of paper from a ticket machine and offered it to him.

“Alright then, this is your number Mr and Mrs Wilde, the wait time should be around 45 minutes. Have a nice day.”

Judy smiled and offered a courteous,”thank you have a nice day as well.”

While Nick grumbled a “you too,” and followed Judy who had already started making her over to the big central waiting area in the middle of the bank which was due to the geography of the room the lowest 'floor'.

It looked a little bit like a big bathtub littered with seats and tables in different sizes as well as ATMS which allowed the mammals present to check their account balance and withdraw money while they were waiting for their appointments.

Judy basically jumped onto a couch like seat meant for slightly larger mammals than either one of them.

Nick had no idea why until he saw that a familiar face was now sitting opposite of Judy.

Officer Tom Prexa looked pretty different in civilian clothing. The young hyena had started working on the force two years after Nick had and he admired Judy.

No, admired was not strong enough of a word thought Nick.

Him being such a fan flustered Judy every now and then which was outright adorable to watch. Every other cop in the ZPD, who joined the force because of Judy usually stopped treating her like a star after a few months once they realized that she was just a normal mammal and that they were now part of the same workforce.

But Tom didn't, no he outright worshiped Judy, making her his role model and thus standard in terms of police work.

It sometimes outright annoyed Nick and he had disliked the poor hyena because of it. Even though Nick felt stupid about it he actually had seen Tom as a threat to their relationship since he could try to steal Judy away. But once he had found out that Tom was actually in a pretty serious relationship with a female coyote named Frankie, he dropped these suspicions and warmed up to him.

Nick jumped onto the couch and smirked,”Hey Tom what are you doing here?”

Tom smiled and eagerly replied,”I was just telling Judy. I am here to get a credit so that me and Frankie can move into a bigger apartment.”

Judy tilted her head,”why do you need a new apartment wasn't your old one pretty nice?”

Before answering Tom looked around the room as if to check that nobody was listening before leaning closer to Nick and Judy and whispering,”we have decided to try for cubs.”

Nick could feel a familiar warmth spread through him followed by a pang of guilt.

He loved having a little bunny kit with Judy and if someone asked him, adopting her was the greatest decision he had ever made, right after marrying Judy of course.

So seeing a friend make the same decision or at least a similar one was really heartwarming.

Judy meanwhile brought both paws to her maw to muffle a happy squeal.

“That is so great Tom!” Whispered Judy back to him or at least she tried as her voice went back to normal speaking volume when her happiness and excitement started to overflow in her voice.

And she didn't stop there,”you are going to make great parents!” Judy added and sounded even happier than before if that was even possible.

“But if you need advice you can come ask me and Nick, right Nick?” Judy asked as she turned to him with a bright smile.

Nick just nodded,”yeah sure.”

Tom seemed to be infected by Judy's excitement as he answered just as excited,”I sure will and you can be godparents to one of our cubs.”

Judy already had another idea,”you know Tom when your cubs are born and old enough so that you don't have to be around them all day then you could use Aileen as a sitter for your cubs.”

Nick smiled at the thought of a slightly more mature Aileen trying to sit one or two hyena cubs all on her own. While she was a smart kit, he imagined that she would fail miserably in this regard.

Tom was just about to answer when a noise like thunder broke through the entire room.

A gunshot had just been fired.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors note:
> 
> I apologize for the mistakes in this work since I had no time to proofread it a second time and finding all the mistakes after the first time is hard.  
> I also have to apologize since I said that I would be writing new chapter for my other stories(I am, just not as fast as I thought I would). The reason for this is the fact that the new job that I got is usually from 8 to 4. However we are shorthanded right now and got a lot of work to do so it usually ends up being 8 to 7. Which leaves little time to write.
> 
> Disclaimer: do not continue to read from here on out if you are not a fan of blood and gore!  
> But I am writing and I am coming up with new ideas. I am constantly thinking about how to continue the being a predator story and I started working on it. And this lead to a very funny moment today after work.  
> I help local hunters that I know by gutting and dismembering the mammals they shoot. Now I was going that in a small warehouse filled with tires where we have a little corner set up for butchering animals.  
> So it was late evening and I had just cut of the head of a fallow deer doe while 'Try everything' was blasting from my stereo(yeah I do this every so often our mysterious vixen would approve). My pants were covered in blood and guts (because of reasons).Now I about to bring the head to a container that we use for the waste from the butchering and I was whistling to the music while thinking about possible plotslines involving deer. When a receptionist working in our office opened the door to the warehouse and walking in. Seeing me carrying a deerhead which was still connected to the rest of the bloody fur of the deer I had just removed from the meat before, while being covered in blood myself and happily whisteling the music. The scariest thing must have been my empty stare though since I was in such deep thought.  
> And she just turned around and puked in the corner before wordlessly leaving the room.  
> I later found out that some colleagues had told her that I was in the warehouse and that I needed some help.  
> She will probably never help me again.


	3. No Heroes allowed

**A few minutes earlier**

 

The inside of the van was rather dark but that did not bother the pack of predators inside in the slightest.

Everyone was busy readying their gear and thus the only noise in the van was the clicking of magazines being inserted. The zipping sounds of vests being securely put on, as well as duffle bags being closed after their contents had been checked one last time.

The air in the van was not as tense as one would suspect though, considering what laid ahead.   
Each mammal was prepared and not one of them was scared or stressed.

They were professionals after all.

Rita had just finished securing her earpiece in the right spot when Sophie started speaking over the intercom.

“ETA two minutes, alpha team has finished preparations. The plan has not changed. Both teams will arrive simultaneously and the escape is in place. The inside of the bank will be your only concern. Get in, hit them hard and get out. Easy peasy.”

Rita could not help but smile right back as Aiden, her partner and best friend cocked his rifle and smiled at her,”Alright foxy, lets get this show on the road then.”

She rolled her eyes and everyone checked their guns one last time before donning their masks and waiting for the signal.

It really would really be easy peasy, get in, get out and then get paid.

The van abruptly came to a halt and everyone knew that it was time to go.  
Rita tapped the voice morphing module on her throat to activate it. Everyone else did the same and she shouted in her commanding tone,”alright boys, showtime! Make me proud.”

She got her reply in form of a disturbingly sounding, “yes, ma'am!” Which was not surprising since all their voices where morphed beyond recognition. Which in turn meant that their equipment did exactly what it was supposed to do.  
The doors of the van opened and light flooded the spacious interior and managed to temporarily blind the mammals inside before they started to jump out onto the street in pairs of two.

They were on the clock now, which meant that everything needed to go as fast and as precise as possible.

After a short sprint they reached the entrance of the bank where two guards stood with widened eyes.

They were both wolves in blue uniforms that were reminiscent of cops uniforms.

Naturally the two guards had close to no time to react and were now faced with their vanguard in the form of three wolves. And each one was at least a head bigger than both guards, not to mention armed to the teeth.

One of the guards however not intimidated by this and instead opted for being brave. He reached for his gun, but Dimitri knocked him flat on the ground with the butt of his rifle, while Pavel went ahead and blasted the other guard in the head with his shotgun.

The three wolves went on and entered the building with speed and trained precision while Aiden grabbed his sidearm, a silenced pistol which was specially made to fit a cheetahs paw out of his lg holster. Before finishing off the second guard with two shots into his head.

Dimitri, Pavel and Pyotre were already taking their positions and panic started to rise among the mammals inside the building. The situation seemed out of control.

At least until Nasim and Izem entered the building and everyone went silent.

 

 

The shot rang through the building and it was immediately clear that something was not right.

Judy was already grabbing her phone and readying herself to call the ZPD, she had the number on speed dial for this very reason.

She saw that some other mammals had the same idea and was bewildered when Tom grabbed her phone and forced it out off her paw.

She wanted to yell at him for taking her phone and stopping her from calling for reinforcements until she saw the first robbers enter the bank.

They were all wolves wearing different masks. Wolves who were decked out with military equipment!

And even more importantly two of them were carrying actual assault rifles.

Only the military should have access to such weaponry as far as Judy knew.

Not even the ZPD's SWAT team was allowed to use such advanced weaponry because mammals feared that the Police would get too militarized. The understandable argument was that it would promote violent solutions to conflicts if equipment like this was available.

Due to the nature of its versatility, this type of weaponry was deemed dangerous and thus it was highly regulated in general. Which meant that normally it was out of reach even for the most ruthless of crime syndicates.

If the ZPD did get involved in this situation then it would, without doubt, end in a massacre even if there were just three assailants.

That being said though, there was no way that they could let these dangerous mammals roam free. Especially since they carried such dangerous equipment.

Panic naturally took over the masses and the civilians started to do dangerous things like screaming or running away from the robbers.

Actions which could likely provoke them into attacking if they felt like the situation got out of paw.

Judy even wondered whether she should step up and calm the mammals next to her down, when two more mammals entered the building.

Calming others down seemed to be unnecessary since most visitors of the bank saw the imposing predators at the entrance of the bank and went silent in fear.

A lion and a tiger stood there in full riot gear, armed and wearing imposing full face ballistic masks. Both where wielding a type of weapon which Judy had only ever seen in movies or military documentaries.

They had portable miniguns!

The spinning barrels caused a sound that eerily seeped into the soul. A sound that, thanks to the movie industry, was well known to the general population.

This was madness!

How the hell did some bank robbers get this kind of hardware?

Not even the Big family was supposed to be able to procure weapons of this particular caliber.

She felt Nicks paw on her shoulder as he tried to push her to the ground. She gave no resistance and collapsed into a prone position.

Being shocked as she was Judy had not noticed the other three mammals enter the bank.

Another wolf and a cheetah brandishing the same kind of assault rifles like the before seen wolves were flanking a much smaller predator, a fox.

The fox was carrying what seemed to be a compact shotgun. His head was completely enveloped in a latex mask which looked like a bird skull.

The mask made him look like a monster out of a surreal horror movie.

And Judy was sure that she would be seeing that same fox in her nightmares from now on.

It was said fox who had jumped onto the front desk and had already started yelling at the crowd while Judy was still processing everything that was happening.

“...if you stay on the ground and do not move or call the police then we will not harm you in any way shape or form. Even if the ZPD does show up due to other circumstances, we will guarantee that you will not be harmed! However any mammal that resists our instructions will be killed without mercy and this is not negotiable.”

Damn, thought Judy, they have voice modifying equipment. This will make finding them a lot harder.

If they do manage to get away that is, commented the stupidly brave part of her mind.

It was only a matter of time until a situation would present itself and she would have to seize it. The only mammals standing between these criminals and their goals were Nick, Tom and she herself. Which meant that they were not only outgunned but also outnumbered, lovely.   
As long as Nick was by her side though Judy was sure that no obstacle could stop them from delivering justice, Tom was just a bonus.

She felt Nick nudge her in the side and it was now that she noticed how close they were actually laying together. They were so close in fact that they were basically laying on top of one another next to the table.

This was good since it would make secretly communicating easier.

Tom meanwhile seemed to be scared out of his mind for some reason and Judy wondered if it was because he had never actually seen someone die in his entire career with the ZPD up until now.

Well technically he had still not seen anyone being killed.

But it was almost certain that the shot which had been fired was no warning shot.

She slightly turned her head towards Nick, who was still poking her, to show that she was listening. She never really took her eyes off of the bank robbers though. Who were taking tactical positions all around the bank which allowed them to better manage the crowd.

The fox and the cheetah meanwhile were on their way towards the back of the bank where the vault was.

It was strange to Judy though that they had no duffle bags or something similar with them to carry the loot. One would think that they would at the very least bring the equipment necessary to forcefully open the vault. But such equipment was nowhere to be seen either. Instead the mammals with actual bags, namely the four wolves, stayed behind.

“Judy,” whispered Nick,”I know that look and whatever you are thinking do not do it!”

He repeated the last part in a rather loud and forceful whispering tone. “DO NOT DO IT! Are we clear?”

She just winked at him as an answer and continued observing the two robbers who were now talking to a bank employee.

This did not seem to satisfy Nick since he went on,”this one is way too dangerous for us to meddle in Judy. Even you have to understand that.”

This statement actually ticked her off,”what kind of excuse is that?”

She asked in an angry whisper and she did not even wait for his reply before continuing.

“How do we know that they won't kill more mammals. We both know that this first shot had to be destined for some mammal. Or else they would not have risked the alarm being activated before they even managed to enter the building.“

Nick seemed just as agitated as she was when he replied,”exactly! They are willing to just kill other mammals to get what they want. Not only that but they also got superior numbers and equipment to top things off. I say..no I beg you Judy. Let's just focus on gathering information that we can use to catch them after this. We are no use to everyone else if we are dead Judy and you know that.”

She gave a sigh, he was right. Things looked dire and if they did mess up then they would most likely endanger the lives of the other hostages in the building.

She was just about to answer when a deep distorted voice came from right behind them.

“What are you two whispering about, huddled together like that?”

A shiver went down her spine, had they already been caught?

She looked over to Nick who seemed to be having a little heart attack of his own.

One of the wolves was now standing behind them. He was wearing a zombie wolf mask and the muzzle of his rifle was trained right on Nick's head.

“Come on answer me!” Came a more demanding command from the 'zombie' wolf.

Nick answered in a tone that made him seem like he was scared out of his mind. His voice was shivering and he had deliberately changed his voice to a higher pitched tone that made him seem even more pathetic.

“We were just so...so scared, sir. And..well..we were seeking each other warmth to calm each other down.”

Judy wondered just how much of Nicks scared voice was an act and how much was actual fear. Considering that they were at gunpoint right now he had every reason to be afraid.

There was a pause and Judy wondered what would happen next. She had really no idea since the mask prevented her from reading the facial features of their opponent.

Suddenly the wolfs left paw went from the grip of his weapon to his ear and his head turned towards his left paw. He then spoke quietly as if to himself.

“Please repeat. I did not copy.”

There was another pause and Judy wondered what he was talking about before she realized that he was talking to someone else.

The bank robbers were using radios or something similar to communicate!

The wolf waited once more as he was likely receiving a report or an order.

And Judy was left to wonder once again.

What if he was getting orders to kill them for chatting with each other?

A shiver ran down her spine just thinking about it and cold sweat started form under her fur.

There was no way right?

“Copy, am I supposed to put her down?” Asked the wolf calmly and Judy felt her heart speed up its pace significantly.

“Copy that.”

Judy wondered if she would have better chances of survival if she attacked her foe. But then again if he had orders not kill her then he would definitely do it after her attack.

It was Nick who sprung to action first however,”please sir. M.m..my wife has not been the one who started talking it was me! If you have to put somebody down take me!”

Judy felt her heart simultaneously warm and plummet into her stomach. Knowing that Nick was willing to give his life for her was charming each and every time.

And she would do the same if she had been in his situation.

However living in a world without him seemed too sad for her to even consider.

The wolf just looked at Nick and his paw went back to the front grip of his rifle.

“Shut up fox, I have no time to deal with you right now. Just stay quiet from now on and whomever you are married too is none of my concern.”

That was a clear answer, thought Judy.

So this was it, this was the end of her life.

She closed her eyes but nothing happened. When she opened them again she saw that the wolf was moving towards the reception where Ms Hornard was shivering on the ground.

The wolf actually made his way over to her and grabbed her by the Neck before shouting.

“ATTENTION EVERYONE!”

He lowered his rifle to his side where it was hanging securely and raised Ms Hornard up by the neck with just one paw. This left her struggling for air while every other mammal in the room was watching.

“The silent alarm was triggered, thanks to Ms Hornard over here. This means that each and everyone of you is now in danger if the ZPD arrives earlier than expected.”

The wolf visibly tightened his grip on the throat of the poor goat and her struggle seemed to weaken.

“We said that we will guarantee that we will not harm you as long as you cooperate and we will keep our word. However we can not guarantee that you won't be caught by stray bullets if the ZPD returns fire. Thus it would be appreciated if no further attempts are made to sabotage our operation.”

Ms Hornard was barely struggling anymore and the wolf just opened his paw a little bit which allowed her to gasp for some well needed air.

“For all of our sakes.” He ended before grabbing the almost dead goat by her throat with his other paw and ripping it out with a sickeningly wet sound.

Ms Hornard dropped to the cold ground once more only this time her blood spilled onto the floor around her throat as she made weak gurgling noises.

The entire building seemed dead silent and the wolf raised his voice once more.

“Remember this! We do not take kindly to heroes.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors note:
> 
> Alright there we go another chapter done and I am happy.  
> I am moving soon though so that will be time consuming.  
> Lets hope that I can keep up making one chapter per week, looking at my schedule 'Good, Bad and everything in between' is next up.


	4. Time for a Payday

 

"Two minutes forty seconds guys!" Yelled Sophie over the intercom.  
Rita smirked upon hearing this and prodded the ram before her to work faster while Aiden stood guard at the entrence to the room.

The smell of blood and stomach acid combined with the now red wool of the bankdirector before her told a very clear story.  
Four more guards had been posted inside the underground floor of the bank. Their duty had clearly been to guard the vault.

But without any actual firearms they had been unable to put up anything resembling a fight.  
Instead they had been slaughered where they stood. It was at this point that the bankdirector collapsed into a whimpering ball of fear.  
The fact that the blood from his former coworkers pooled up around him only made things worse as it soaked into his clothes and wool.  
Ultimately the shivering ram threw up all over one of his dead coworkers and Rita decided that enough was enough.

She had pulled him onto his hoves with some help from Aiden and proceeded to beat some sense into the old fool.  
This still did not stop him from shivering like mad, but at least he was working on the vault door now.

Another twenty seconds passed and Rita wondered if the shivering mess before her was even worth her time.

Yes, the fact that the director opened the vault would make their plan seem more random and therefore enforce their cover story.  
But at this point acually hacking the door would have been far faster. Thanks to the set of ciphers which Sophie had secured from the company which had build this specific vault. They would have only needed to get her access to the closed system.

But this would make them seem far too prepared and there were some really bright mammals in the ZPD.  
If they were able to see through this operation then many mammals would have to die.  
And if possible then she would like to avoid killing any of her comrades, or worse getting killed herself, while everyone was covering their tracks.

There was a swishing noise as the massive locks disengaged and the vault door slowly began to swing open.

Revealing Alpha Team in their full glory.

Four foxes in orange prison jumpsuits and fullface gasmasks, armed with police issued tranq guns were lazily assembled inside the vault.  
Each fox had a backpack on their back, a duffle bag over their shoulder and each of them was further flanked by two more dufflebags on the floor.

One of them, an artic fox named Beoff walked right up to her and handed her one of his duffle bags before shooting the bank director's arm with his tranq gun.

"Took you long enough!" Commented Beoff as the bank director hit the floor.

Rite smiled and she was thankful that her mask hid this. Beoff loved hitting on her, the last thing she needed him to see was her smile after he made a comment like that.  
And while she was actually smiling at the fact that the vault had been far more filled with cash than even Sophie had expected, he wouldn't know that.

She grabbed the bag offered to her and countered with a heartfelt. "Not my problem!"  
Before turning around.

On her way out she couldn't help but notice the chuckle coming from inside the vault.  
Aiden grabbed two more bags himself and they made their way back towards the lobby.

"Only sixty seconds left." Sounded Sophies voice inside her earpiece. She sounded a little more frantic than usual, which was to be expected.  
A bankrobbery was not their usual kind of job, but apart from the fact that the cops were about to swarm the building, things were seeming pretty peachy.

Yeah, they could pull this off, she was sure of it.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Minutes had passed since the brutal execution in the middle of the lobby had destroyed any sort of resistance which one could have found being plotted just moments before.

Judy told herself that it was okay since the ZPD was about to surround the building and when they did then...then...then they would...she had actually no idea.

She had gotten used to seeing corpses from murders and even firefights and the inevitable casualties that went along with them.

But witnessing a brutal execution like this?  
The execution of a mammal she had just talked to moments ago?  
It was entirely different and she could feel that something inside of her had broken.

She had no idea how extensive the damage would be. But all she wanted to do was cuddle into Nick's side until everything was over.

The though of something similar happening to either one of them crossed her mind and it scared her even more.  
They had a brush with death before, when the wolf had questioned them.  
Naturally she couldn't help but wonder if the wolf would have killed one of them instead of Ms Hornard if things had gone differently.

If the poor goat had not been brave enough to inform the ZPD...then...she did not want to think about it and burried herself deeper into Nick's side.  
Who in return started to slowly stroke her back in well practiced circles.

His gestures, his warmth and ultimately his scent helped her knotted mind enormously.

Suddenly her ears picked up on many heavy steps hurriedly drawing closer.

If they hadn't been coming from inside the bank she would have wondered if the ZPD had finally arrived.

The activity in the room picked up significantly and Judy raised her head in an attempt to get a better look at what was happening.

It was out of instinct, grained into her from years on the beat.  
It wasn't something she could control.

To Judy's suprise, the amount of criminals in the room had increased.  
Four foxes sporting gaskmasks and prison jumpers were decked out with as many duffle bags as they could carry.

Two of the wolves rushed over and grabbed some of the bags freeing up their partners at least a little bit.

The fox who had been with the main group as they had entered the bank gave some signals with his paws and started moving straight towards the middle of the room.  
And subsequently Nick and Judy.

Following him were all of the bankrobbers who had just shown up, as well as the others who had been guarding the hostages in the back area of the lobby.

Two of the wolves were moving backwards in an obvious attempt to keep an eye on the hostages behind them.

Just as the fox reached the middle of the lobby he stopped and all of the criminals brought one paw to their respective earpieces.

It was obvious that they were recieving informations or orders, maybe even both.

They all stood still for just a few seconds and then they started moving, fast.

Each one of them grabbed a mammal from the floor which was always a bit smaller than the robbers themselves and started using them as shields, dragging them towards the entrance of the building.

Everything seemed to go well for the robbers, until a wolf with a clowns mask grabbed a middle aged deer in a suit.

Judy saw it from the corner of her eyes how the wolf switched his rifle for a pistol before grabbing he buck by his antlers and pulling him upwards.

And then it happened, the wolf pulled the trigger two times, shooting the deer in the face as he did.

Judy would never really be sure if she had seen the deer resist or not.

But the wolf just went on to the next best mammal, an older female cougar and grabbed her instead.

It happened so fast and she had no real time to worry as another threat made itself known.

The fox with the birdskull mask and the compact shotgun was standing right before her and Nick.  
Looking at them intently, at least if the duration of the time his head was being turned directly at them was any indicator to go by.

His paws were shivering and a low growl could be heard seeping through the room from where he stood.

She could not see his eyes because of the mask, but she was sure that he was looking at Nick rather than her, and it scared her.

This, just like the fear she had felt after witnessing the execution, were not entirely new feelings to her.  
But the intensity of the pure existential dread she felt was new to her.  
And she had certainly never felt this particular kind of fear before.

The looming dread from the mere stare of the fox, was spreading through her mind like wildfire and she knew that other mammals around her felt it too.

Normally shivering would be a sign of weakness and not fear inducing in the slightest.

But this kind of shiver?  
From a mammal which was in possession of a firearm?

It was scary because it showed weakness, a weakness that may result in a loss of control.

The fox suddenly took a step forward and it was clear that he was moving towards Nick.

Judy started to shiver as her mind ran wild, he would take Nick!

He would kill him!

And then...then...

Tears started running down her cheeks, just as the cheetah who had been with the fox put his paw on the fox's shoulder.

"We need to move! Come on!" The distorted voice yelled and the fox flinched visibly.

He turned his head looking at his comrade who pulled him towards the exit.

The fox followed haphazardly and Judy felt an incredible weight fall from her chest as she looked over towards Nick who looked like he had just seen a ghost.

It was obvious that there was some kind of connection between the two foxes. And Judy would have asked if the sound of sirens coming closer had not been paired with the sound of gunshots beeing fired in rapid succession from outside the bank.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The first officers to arrive on the scene had been on patrol in the surrounding areas when the alarm had gone off.  
Being patrol officers they were only equipped with non lethal weaponry used to take down perps as well as suppress small mobs.

So when they were faced a full team of criminals equipped to the teeth with lethal weaponry, they were screwed.

Everyone knew that ZPD SWAT was on the way as fast as they could, but the officers also knew that it would take them another two to three minutes until they ultimately arrived.

Two to three minutes too much considering that the bank robbers were leaving the crimescene right now.

So one of the officers made a critical decision.

Wolford smirked and turned to his partner,"come on Delgato! We can't let these guys get away like this!"

After having said this he grabbed his tranq gun and, despite protocol strictly forbidding it, fired at the robbers turned hostage takers in the distance.

He hit the masked tiger which was looming over most of the other criminals with ease, but the tranq dart simply embedded itself into the tactical vest his opponent was wearing, just as Delgato fired his first shot as well.

Wolford was already reloading when Delgato managed to hit one of the hostages instead of the perp he had been aiming at.

The civilian in question, a female cougar slowly dropped onto the sidewalk while the criminals kept moving.

Two other police cruisers had arrived while this had happened and the officers inside got into position themselves, before they started firering as well, now aiming specifically for the hostages as this tactic had proven successful just moments ago.

Wolford had finished reloading and lined up his next shot just as the criminals changed their tactic.

Two of the wolves had already lost their mammal shields and brought up their rifles in an unmistakable attempt to retaliate with lethal force.

Wolford tried to duck after blindly firing at one of the wolves in question.

Too late, bullets rained down onto two of the three polic cruisers with trained precision.

The glass which made up the windows of the cruisers was made to withstand immense abuse, but even they had to yield as the continued onslaught of bullets rained down upon them.

The startled officer used the armored door of the vehicle in question to take cover as best as he could. The sound of metal hitting metal was deafening and he wondered how well his larger partner was fairing on the other side of the cruiser.

He took a glance through the open interior of the vehicle and immediately regretted his decision.

It was obvious that his partner was neither standing nor cowering behind cover.  
The only thing he could see was blood which covered the passenger side of the cruiser, most likely from when a bullet had hit Delgato.

The hail of bullets stopped and Wolford took his chance to leap inside the armored vehicle.

In his mind he contemplated whether or not crawling over to check on his partner was possible, when another hail of bullets began to rain down on the car.

It was a different weapon this time, larger, a roaring like continuous thunder blazed through the street.

This time the attack lasted for only a few seconds, but Wolford knew that their partol car was now totaled.

In the surrounding streets more and more officers arrived and were greeted by more and more gunfire as the bankrobbers exchanged their hostages for their rifles.

They were moving at a brisk pace and it was obvious that their goal was an underground parking garage at the other end of the block.

Once the criminals had made their way inside, the brave officers of the ZPD finally found time for a breather.

There was only one way out of the garage and the arriving officers used their cars to create an improvised cover/roadblock until the SWAT Team would arrive.

It was at this point that Wolford realized that he had not made it out of this ordeal unscathed, he was lying on the middle console of the police cruiser and wasn't able to get up again.

First he though that he had to be in shock, but then he felt the warm trickle of blood soaking into his shirt and the fur below.

And soon other responding officers arrived to drag him out of the car, he realized, he had been shot.

Before consciousness slipped away from him, the old wolf's last thoughs strayed to his wife.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note:
> 
> And thats a wrap!
> 
> Another chapter done, action almost over and the cleanup is about to begin, let's hope I don't mess this up.


	5. A real Disaster

 

 

Breaktime could generally be defined as a sacred thing to all the young mammals who find themselves going to school, and Aileen Wilde was no different.

In fact it was so important to her and her friends that, on occasion, they would expand their break by their own authority.  
Which of course was nonexistent.  
But that did not stop them in any way, shape or form.

And today was one of these days where they planned to do exactly that.  
For this purpose, and this purpose alone they had locked themselves in an old artroom which was located in a part of the school which was currently 'undergoing renovations'. Which in reality only meant that this part of the building was too old to maintain and there wasn't enough money to keep it open.

This was all thanks to Miu, Aileens best friend, a red panda with a knack for picking locks.  
A valuable skill for their group, a skill which Miu had allegedly picked up from watching furtube videos. But everyone knew the truth that, in fact she had learned this skill from her neighbor. Some old silver fox who was rarely home at all.

It was thanks to this skill however that they could ditch class without anyone finding them.  
At first Aileen disliked the idea of ditching class, but then she overheard a conversation her mom had with her dad after she had missed class by accident. Back then her dad had stated that it wasn't too bad for her to ditch class every now and then, since he had done the same as a kit and turned into a cop regardless.  
Mom had naturally been furious but this never seemed to really phase dad all that much.

And thus here they were, sitting arround Billy who happened to be a moose. And together they were watching the newest gazelle music video on his phone.

Billy's best friend, a tiger named Jake made known how annoyed he was by the girls choice of a video to watch with a drawn out groan.  
But he did not dare to actually say anything, he was too cool to bother after all.  
An act that Aileen found hillarious at times.

The casual moment was about to be interupted however when Nancy Otterton yelled at them from the other side of the room.  
She was just as much a part of their group as anyone else was, however she liked to browse the news and chat rather than watching videos and thus had decided to not partake in their current video watching session.

"Guys! Come here, there is something you need to see."

Everyone turned their heads and Miu yelled back "this is not one of these save the earth campaings you always want us to get involved in again, is it?"

The young otter shook her head and started walking over to them with a concerened look on her muzzle. "No this is..."

She was cut off by Billy who had not even looked up. "Is it another one of these flower arrangements that your parents do? Those always look so impressive."

Nancy shook her head again.  
"No, can you go to the ZNN website please? There is something you guys need to see."

These words paired with the concerned look on their friends face made all remarks they had die in their throats while Billy opened the site.  
Immediately a breakingnews stream was offered to them and the young moose klicked it, revealing a livefeed from a helicopter somewhere above the city. The first thing one could see were the police cars littered over the streets in seemingly random patterns while the camera centered on a multi story parking garage. Meanwhile a reporter spoke over the footage.  
"..this day may very well live in infamy. Until the ZPD gives their official statement we will not be sure how many mammals are actually dead and how many are just injured, but witnesses have confirmed that the criminals who robbed the bank were indeed armed with illegal lethal weaponry."

The scene changed from the helicopter view to an interview done on a street somewhere. An older rabbit doe was shivering all over as she spoke to the camera.

"Me and my mate were just walking down the street like normal and then...the ZPD showed up in their cruisers with flashing lights and at full speed. We had no idea what was going on, but down the street they just stopped and started shooting!"

The reporter interviewing the older doe cut in. "So you are saying that the ZPD shot first?"

The doe looked confused for a moment but then answered with a little more confidence.

"Yes, I believe they shot first. And then these savages shot back and there was blood. And everyone was screaming. And more police officers arrived at the scene and every mammal was panicking and running and...and my mate had a heartattack..."

The older doe started crying.

"And they don't know if he is going to make it.."

The doe before the camera choked up and collapsed onto her knees. It was heartbreaking to watch and the reporter made a cutting gesture under his throat as he rushed to the side of the doe he was interviewing, shortly after the video cut out.

The feed turned back to the helicopters point of view and there was a moment of utter silence until the reporter from before cleared her throat and started talking again.

"There are also unconfirmed rumors floating around that Zootpia's hero cops, Officers Wilde and Wilde were in the bank when the robbery occurred."

Aileens heart seemed to stop and it felt as if her heart was being squeezed by an unknown force.

It hurt spectacularly and tears welled up in her eyes. What if her mom and dad had gotten hurt?

The reporter went on."We are just receiving word that the ZPD is attempting to raid the parking garage in which the perpetrators are currently stuck. Hopefully they will be able to end this nightmare as soon as possible."

 

 

 

To become a member of the ZPD SWAT you need strength, skill and determination. All of these traits combined distinguish the best from the so called rest.  
One could actually say that the ZPD's finest were among these particular mammals who were currently discussing how to deal with the problem at paw.

But even these mammals were only that, mammals.  
And even they were nervous when considering the mission given to them.

Reports stated that the perps actually carried military grade equipment. And sadly, footage from the traffic cameras in the area had confirmed this.  
And in turn this meant that the mammals below were not only well trained, organized and ruthless, but they also had equipment similar or even better than the ZPD's response team did to boot.  
Combined with the fact that they had holed themselves up in a bunker like underground structure, this made for quite the suicide mission.

But the mammals in riot gear who had gathered at the exit of the parking garage did not care about that.  
They firmly believed that their duty was to protect and serve.  
And to this effect they were ready to pay the ultimate price.  
Yes every member of the ZPD SWAT knew that saving even a single life was more important than their own.

And so they made their way into the building.  
Sixteen mammals divided into two rows moved slowly down the ramp leading to the first underground floor.  
They stuck closely to the walls while two armored troop transporters rolled down the ramp at walking pace as well.  
The plan was to use them as moving cover while they would clear floor after floor.

There were some clear dangers on each floor, one being the two staircases on each side of the parking garage which connected all the floors.

The second being the control and maintenance rooms on all floors.  
Each floor had a control room from which the lights and the secruity cameras could be accessed.  
This was their first goal, to secure the camera feeds and identify possible threats before taking them out.

But before they could do that they had to clear the first floor.

The team split up as soon as they reached the end of the ramp.  
One team heading right with one of the armored vehicles while the other team headed left with theirs.  
Upon reaching their respective side they fanned out even more.  
Two mammals took the wall directly next to the ramp while two moved along the exact opposite side of the room.  
The armored vehicle moved through the path in the middle and served as cover for the remaining four mammals on the team.

It was a crawl and the tension was hanging in the air like electricity before a storm.

Behind every vehicle and every support pillar could possibly hide an enemy combatant.

The team on the right found the control room on their side and moved into position after clearing the rest of their side of the floor.  
While the left secured the maintenance room and the armored vehicles surveyed the ramp which lead down, to prevent the enemies from sneaking up on their comrades.

They breached the rooms simultaneously, only to find them empty and the camera system destroyed.  
A silent curse escaped the team leader of the second team as he called this particular information in.  
It meant that they had to go in blind, again.

And so they repeated the process once more on the second floor, again no enemies and the camera system was destoyed.

Which left the enemies with only one floor for their last stand.

The third and final floor.

Both teams rallied around their armored vehicles and moved downwards once more.

This time they knew that they would encounter the enemy.  
There was no other place for them to be afterall.

But when they reached the lowest floor they were greated with a spectacular view.  
Right were the ramp ended they found a giant whole in the ground which reavealed traintracks down below.

The team leader could not help but growl before he called in.  
"They are in the wind! They breached through the floor and used the underground train tracks to escape."

This was going to be a media disaster.

 

 

 

A blanket was draped over Nick's shoulders as he was sitting on the sidewalk before the bank.  
Judy was currently talking to the chief who had personally come over to talk to them, the second time in two days.

It was clear that she was pushing herself and while Nick disliked the idea, he was in no condition to stop her, or the chief for that matter.

"Officer Wilde, I wonder if you are just this good at sniffing out crime. Or if you are just this unlucky when it comes to drawing criminals near you. But this time you have most definitely outdone yourself."  
It was clear that the chief was talkin to Judy and normally Nick would have used this opportunity to take a verbal jab at the chief. But this time...this time he was not feeling like talking at all.  
Which was a testament to how bad he actually felt.

He knew that Judy would find out.  
He knew that she definitely would.  
This time there was no time around it, not after what she had seen in there.  
Not after what had happened.

She would find out and then?

Judy was a tryer, she would try her hardest to find out what exactly was going in and she would find out what he had done.  
If she dove to deep she definitely would, and she always did.

That was one of the reason why so many criminals feared his sweet little bunny so much.  
And it was one reason why he feared her as well.

Her determination could at times be a weapon, which she truly wielded masterfully.

Should he come clean?

Would she forgive him?

Could he even be forgiven?

While he wondered about this he heard Judy talk about him and his focus went back to her conversation with the chief.

"...Nick seemed to be his sole focus back then. And if..."

"HER sole focus." Threw Tom in who was sitting on the hood of a police cruiser nearby, the situation had finally caught up with him and he looked like shit.  
"The fox was a vixen."

Judy turned to Tom and gave him a quizzical look. "How do you know that?"

He managed a weak smile.  
"Her scent. They were using scentblockers and really good ones at that. But those only help you so far."  
Judy flinched, she hadn't been able to pick up on this. She couldn't even remember the vixens scent.

"But even I couldn't tell you any more than that. She used a really good scent blocker."

The chief groaned,"so all their equipment is top notch and they know how to cover their tracks. This case will give me headaches for weeks, if not months, I just now it."

Judy looked even more concerned now.

"Does that mean that the criminals got away?"

The chief sighed. "Yes it does."

He turned towards Nick and asked the dreaded question. "Wilde do you have any idea how this vixen could be related to you?"

Nick knew that the question was coming but he still flinched.  
How should he answer?

A lie?

The truth?

A mix of both?

No, he couldn't do that. He was a cop now and he had promised the most important mammal in his life to honor his profession.  
This meant no lying to his coworker.

"Her name is Eliza Rotschweif and she is my ex."

A collective "what!?" could be heard from the surrounding mammals and Nick went on to elaborate.  
"I can tell from her scent. It was hard to tell at first but it was certainly familiar. I will never forget that scent, it could have only been hers."

He could see Judy's ears fall and he wanted to rush over to take her into his arms immediately, but the chief had other plans.  
"So does your ex have any reasons for the hostality she displayed towards you?"

Nick nooded and gulped heavily before meekly confessing.

"Yeah, she got plenty, I left her as soon as she got pregnant afterall."

The looks he got from the mammals around him couldn't have been any more surprised and distgusted than this. And Nick knew that he would not get out of this so easily.

To confirm his suspicions he searched for Judy's eyes. And once he found them he saw utter shock mixed with disappointment inside them.

Just like he had expected.

 

 

 

 

Rita pulled the latex mask off her head and for the first time in two hours, took a well deserved deep breath of fresh air.

The cold air of Tundra Town filled her lungs with an almost satisfying burn as the gate behind her rolled shut.

They had made it.

The mission was finished and now it was time for damage control.

The firefight with the police had been unexpected and Rita wondered if they had known somehow that none of the hostages would be harmed.

No there was just no way, or was there?

She bit her lip, if there was a songbird in their midst then she couldn't trust anyone.

But then again if someone was talking then they wouldn't have been able to escape.

Her mind was racing through all the events that had jsut occured in rapid succession in an attempt to recall anything that seemed strange to her.

And then she remembered HIM!

A shiver went through her entire body and her fur stood on end.  
Soon a low growl accompanied this display of pure anger and it cought the attention of Pavel who pulled his clown mask off before initiating the well needed conversation.

"So Rita, what happened in there?"

The much larger wolf realized that she was not listening at all and tapped the Rita on the shoulder to grab her attention before trying again.

"Hey, I heard some of the details from Aiden. He told me you froze in the bank. What was wrong?"

Rita looked at the gray wolf with an expression that was a clear mix of anger and hurt.  
This was an entirely new thing for the older mammal.

Rita had always been cheerful and carefree when it came to...well about anything.

So seeing her like this concered Pavel a lot. And he knew that if not for the fact that Aiden had to report their success to the Boss. Then he would have been the one to talk to her instead.

When Rita finally spoke the same deep rooted hatred from her eyes could be heard in her voice.  
"He was there! And..and..." For a moment Pavel wondered if Rita was actually going to have a breakdown, but she cought herself and went on.

"...he was with that...that...vermin!"

There was a pause and Pavel was confused,"who are you talking about?"

"My dad...he was there. And...you know...I..I just...froze."

Pavel inhaled sharply through his teeth upon hearing this.  
Every member of their team knew the story. About what kind of scumbag the 'hero cop' Nick Wilde actually was.  
And in turn anger welled up in him as well.

This didn't go unnoticed by Pyotre who took it upon himself to enter the conversation as well.

"So you are wondering if you should have taken your chance then and there. Is that it?" He asked in a tone that seemed far too calm for the ususally energetic wolf.

Rita only nodded and Pyotre took this as his cue to go on.

"After what he did to your mother? I'd say the three of us should each grab a rifle, drive to his place and unload our magazines into it. After that, we meet the others at the usual place, order us some steaks and toast to two jobs well done in one day."

There was another moment of silence as the idea sunk in.

And to everyones surprise, even her own, it was Rita who protested against the plan.

"He is a cop...we can't!"

Pyotre was about to counter but Pavel was faster.  
"She is right, the ZPD is off limits, the boss..."

Pyotre cut his brother off midsentence.

"The Boss loves her like his own daughter. He will pardon her. Like it or not, Rita is a made mammal, she is part of the inner circle. And thus the organization will protect her."

It was at this point that Aiden entered the conversation.  
He had been back for just a few moments and happened to catch the tail end of the conversation.  
But he knew that whatever his friends were discussing, it was dangerous and nothing short of treason.

"Why would she even need protection?" Was the first thing he said and Pavel as well as Pyotre turned around to give the cheetah some space so that he could take his place in their little group.

"We are talking about the incident in the bank." Answered Rita meekly.

Ah...thought Aiden, yeah this was indeed a problem. One he was not sure they could fix today.

He knew that his next words had to be carefully chosen. "So what, you want to kill Wilde?"

The young vixen nodded while avoiding eye contact as best as she could. She looked as if she was a kit he had just caught trying to steal a cookie from the cookie jar.

"What do you think?" Asked Pavel in a clear attempt to get some sense into the other two mammals before him.

"Well..." Said Aiden and he dragged the word a little while he though of the right way to say this.  
"...your mother died from two shots into the chest, right?"

There was another weak nod.

"Taking this into consideration I would give Wilde twenty!"

Surprise was basically written on Rita's face in big flashing rainbow letters.  
To her right, Pavel did not fare that much better.

And Pyotre took his chance to wrap things up.  
"See, let's grab the gear and go."

He was already starting to move towards the lockers at the other end of the room as Aiden went on.  
"I said, I would, and you sure can. If you are going to do this, which I certainly won't."

Pyotre stopped in his tracks and Pavel relaxed a little as he realized that Aiden was indeed on his side.

"The organization will most certainly protect you if you do. And you got Pyotre here to back you up right? So sure go ahead."

He moved up to Rita and grabbed cupped her head with his paws looking her in the eyes.  
"But, you will ruin your reputation if you do. And unless I overerestimated your sense of duty, then the organization always comes first in your book. Not to mention the fact that you would have to deal with your conscience yourself, after you are done that is. But this is your decision and I certainly won't stop you. In this matter I do not have the right to do so."

After having said this he let go of her and Rita shook her head one last time.

"You always have the right to stop me, and you know it...stupid spotted moron."

Silence, again, everyone knew that there was nothing left to be said.  
And deep down nobody liked the idea that this opportunity would pass, just like that.

But it did, and so they went to the usual place, without stopping by the appartment of the Wilde family.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note:
> 
> I wanted to write a chapter for another story...but I got so frustrated with that that I went back to this one. Which means more chapters and finally drama arrives.


End file.
